The First Delivery
by BurgerTac
Summary: Langston's first day on the job as a pizza delivery boy doesn't go quite as planned...


The First Delivery

By: BurgerTac

The streets of Royal Woods are a rather inappropriate place for minors to play, even worse to live are some, however, that make it through scrounging. Some are called thieves. Some are even called vermin. But those that have been able to make a steady living in these parts, are called wise-men. Langston is one such boy, living in the streets when he was younger, always somehow managing to find his way without trouble. Though, in recent days, he's been struggling to make ends meet. getting fired from his job as a janitor, he's been looking for different ways to get some income. And here he was today. First day on the job as a delivery boy of a local pizzeria, and already starting his first delivery...

"So, are you ready for your first delivery?" A middle aged man asked, handing a bored teen a stack of pizza boxes. The teen in question picking them up and stuffing them in the container for delivery.

"I guess… You did say 1216 Franklin Avenue, right?" the boy asked, wanting to make sure that he got the address right and not end up giving away a pie for free. He really didn't want to mess this up, finding jobs around these parts weren't exactly easy, and with the apartment costs, he had no choice but to do his best.

"Yeah, I did." The man replied gruffly, looking at the boy rather sharply. "You best watch yourself around those people, kid." He points out to Langston as he prepared to leave.

"Why?"

"Because those people just aren't normal… you'll understand when you get there." and with that, Langston left the pizzeria in apprehension.

'I wonder what the old man is talking about...' Langston thought to himself as he got on his beat up turned the key in the ignition and kicked up the stand, finally starting the path on his first delivery.

As he was going down the road, panic started to set in and fester. Each thought becoming worse and worse in the boy's mind. 'What if they're criminals, like Gangsters, Mafia, or.. Cannibals! This old fart just sent me to my death!' he suddenly stopped on the side of the road and took in a deep breath.

'Listen to yourself Langston… already panicking about people you don't even know. Just remember your values, your training… come on, you're better than this!'

With this brief motivation, he got himself ready to drive again. 'Then again, they DO live in the nice part of town… so they can't really be SO bad…' Langston thought to himself. Of course, most people that live in the nice parts are three things: Rich and jerks, old people, or really found it satisfactory, so he calmly continued the rest of the way over to the customer's house without any further issue.

"Ah, here's Franklin Avenue." He thought aloud, taking in the scenic outlook of the neighborhood. 'Man, this place looks really nice, kind of wish that I lived here.' Just as he finished that sentence in his mind, he frowned. Langston really couldn't dream to afford living here. Heck, the apartment was a bitch to pay, taking almost all of his paycheck. Luckily, it came with all the amenities, like water and electricity, so that was enough for him.

'Who knows, maybe with this job, I'll actually be able to afford myself something, maybe even a phone!' That thought excited him, a phone all for himself sounded really nice, a prospect that had him chomping at the bit.

'Let's see here… 1202...1210...1214… Ah, there it is, 1216!' Langston stopped the scooter, having arrived at his destination. "Well… here goes Lang, your first delivery… please don't let this be a big mistake…'

Every step that he took was heart-pounding for the boy. He could already feel the suspense music from those B-Movies start reaching its climax as he closed in on the door to the residence. To distract himself, Langston started to look in different directions, as if looking away from the door would save him from his nervousness.

'Huh… there's lots of toys on the yard. Must be a big family then.' This distraction proved useful, already feeling himself calming down. 'Now… let's get this over with.' With that, he knocked on the door, finally ready to complete his delivery. "Pizza delivery!"

At first, there was no noise. Nothing to indicate that there was someone home. Then, he heard footsteps, growing louder and louder as they closed in on the door. Quickly trying to prepare himself, Langston checked the price ticket so he would say it right, but he caught something that had him confused.

These prices weren't right at all. He had seen the prices for the pizzas on the menu, and clearly these were more than double the price! He was so dumbfounded at the fact that the old man was charging triple for the food, that he didn't notice the door opening to reveal a young teen on the other side.

Ahem! "Something the matter, man?" The boy asked, snapping Langston out of his funk. Quickly getting his bearings straight, he looked at the person that was addressing him.

The kid was clearly much younger than he was, with a small amount of scruff at the base of his chin, as well as a black beanie to compliment his look. But what surprised him the most was the wild set of white hair that the boy had! That must have been dyed at one point.

Langston blinked. The other teen blinked. An uncomfortable silence fell between them for a small moment. "Umm… I have your delivery right here sir, but I think there was an error with the ticket… Do… you think I could borrow a calculator?" He smiled sheepishly, clearly embarrassed as the strangely haired boy raised his eyebrows.

"An error? Let me see." He reached out for the ticket. With a bit of hesitation, the still bored looking teen handed him the ticket, making sure to make as little contact as possible. He didn't know why, but he was incredibly nervous, he didn't want to mess up, but he was also shocked at the fact that the price for the food wasn't right at all.

"By the way man, the name's Mano, get used to it, cause we love pizza!" With the white haired boy's name finally revealed, he checked the ticket, only for him to return it a little annoyed. 'Did he not see anything wrong with it?' Langston thought to himself, slowly getting more and more disturbed at that fact.

'The old man has been doing this for a long time. But why?' He wondered to himself. He reached to get the ticket back, the other teen looking at him suspiciously.

"There's no error, I don't know what you're talking about." This shocked Langston. Clearly it was triple the price, how could he not know? Did he not look at the menu, or was this just the price of delivery? Either way, it wasn't right!

"But sir, this isn't the right amount. These pizzas should only be around 20 bucks, not $49.11!" This revelation startled Mano, who at first couldn't believe it. All this time, they've been charging them more than double the price for pizza?

"What? That's stupid! Why the hell would we be getting charged triple for some dumb pizza!?" Mano yelled out. "Wait here for a second, let me get a calculator." and with that, the boy went inside.

As Langston waited for the boy to come back, he heard the door open again, this time to reveal a tall man. He had the same hair as the boy, but it wasn't covered by a beanie. The man wore a simple orange shirt, and some blue jeans.

"I thought I saw Mano at the door… you one of his friends?" The man asked, a curious expression on his face. "Or, judging by the pizzas, you're the delivery boy?"

"Um… yes sir, i'm here to deliver your pizzas, though I think there has been an error with the price. Your… son, has gone to get a calculator so I can sort it out." He was pretty nervous, he really didn't talk to people all that much, and this man was… kinda intimidating, to be quite rational.

"Oh, alright then. Guess we'll just wait for Mano to come back. By the way, what's your name? We're regulars with the pizza, so I haven't seen you before."

"Oh.. my name is Langston sir. This is my first delivery."

"Well Langston, it's nice to meet you. I'm Lincoln Loud."

After that, a silence permeated the front porch of the rather large home. It wasn't awkward, mind you, but it was the sort of silence that everyone was comfortable in. Langston checked the ticket again, making sure that what was on it was right. It was two large, single topping pizzas, nothing too special… Then why was the price set at $49.11? It's more than double the price!

As he was distracted with the ticket, Mano showed up with a rather large calculator. Seemed a little overkill for simple addition, but it'll do. Langston gingerly took the device, and added up the prices that he Knew were on the menu, also accounting for the tax.

"I knew it... "

"Knew what?" Lincoln replied, an eyebrow raised in confusion.

"The actual price for the pizzas is $20.62. It's not $49.11."

"But we've always paid $49.11 for them. Are you telling me that the pizza sold to us was intentionally overpriced?" At that point Mano interjected, clearly a little frustrated at the scam that was revealed.

"Seems so… I'll tell you what, I'll give this to you guys at a discount, I don't feel good at all knowing that you're getting scammed of your cash." With a resolute look on his face (as resolute as his bored face can get), he took out his wallet and took out some money. "That'll be $20.62, sir."

"Are you sure about this? I can still pay the whole amount. I don't think having a kid pay for half of my pizza is fair at all…" Lincoln stated, clearly upset about the whole ordeal.

"If there's one thing that I've learned through life, it's that cheating others is no way to live." Langston said rather sagely. He has been living in the streets for a long time, homeless for about half of his life. Cheating people of their money wasn't a good practice, and neither was it good for the conscience.

"Alright. If you say so. Well, it's been nice to talk to you Langston. And thank you for the quick delivery!" Taking Lincoln's payment, Langston handed them the pizza, curtly nodding, and walking back to his scooter. On his ride back, he didn't think. Nor did he look anywhere. He just looked straight at the road, calmly going back to the pizzeria in peace.

When he arrived, he noticed that the owner wasn't around, the place virtually empty besides the chairs and the occasional chatter coming from the TV mounted to the wall. As he walked into the back, he noticed a small envelope in his box. He clocked out quickly, grabbing the envelope with a little glee.

Though, this did have him troubled. Just how many people did he overcharge? Was it all of them? Or was it just the family? He really didn't want to think about it too much, seeing as how he just got paid. Finally, the water and electric bills could be paid! Who knows, maybe there's a bit extra!

As his shift was already done, he decided it was time to go home. Before he left the pizzeria however, he thought out loud to himself.

"To think the old man has something against those people…. I wonder why…"

The End.

Author's Note:

Well! that was tiring! I really don't know how most of you guys do this, but this is my first, and only fic that I'll be making! my OC Langston (no last name) has had his first successful delivery! and honestly, this was way harder than I thought it was. I really gotta give props to most of you authors, this stuff is grueling! Anyways, this has been BurgerTac, thanks for reading, and have a good day!


End file.
